The Baker Institute Student Forum (BISF) hosted a lecture at the Baker Institute featuring John Podesta, the president and CEO of the Center for American Progress. Podesta served as chief of staff to President Clinton from October 1998 to January 2001, during which he was responsible for directing, managing and overseeing all policy development, daily operations, Congressional relations and staff activities of the White House. Podesta is currently a Visiting Professor of Law on the faculty of the Georgetown University Law Center, a position he also held from January 1995 to 1997. He has taught courses on technology policy, congressional investigations, copyright, and public interest law. Podesta is considered one of Washington's leading experts in technology policy, and has written a book, several articles, and lectured extensively in these areas.

In his lecture, Podesta called for new research and increased spending on energy, since the United States is strongly dependent on fossil fuels. Therefore, policies regarding energy research, development and deployment need to be reevaluated in order to guard against harmful repercussions.